Improvement in railroad-car brakes



A. I. AMBLER.

Car Brake. I N 35727 Patented June 24, 1862.

inventon Witnesses? UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

AUGUSTINE I. AMBLER, OF MILWAUKEE, WISOON SIN, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF, R. N. AMBLER, AND WARRIGK MARTIN, OF SAME PLACE.

lMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-CAR BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,727, ated June 24, 1 62- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AUGUSTINE IREL AM- BLER, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Oar Brake; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specificatiomin which- Figure 1 is a side sectional view of my invention complete, taken in the line w m, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front view of a car, showing a portion of the invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists in the employment or use of a rotating rod or shaft placed underneath each car and provided with cams so arranged as to actuate the brakes.

The invention also consists in a novel and improved way of applying steam-power to the brakes, as well as to an improved arrangement for operating them by hand, and also to an improved mode of connecting or coupling the cam rods or shafts.

The invention is a modification of the tumbling-rod brake recently patented by me, bearing date April 1, 1862.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

' A represents the framing and running-gear of a locomotive, and B the framing of the running-gear of a railroad-car. 0 represents a rod or shaft, which is placed longitudinally in the framing B of the car and fitted in pendent'bearings a. This rod is allowed to turn freely in its bearings, and it has upon it four cams, D, which are formed of circular disks having one side formed with a beveled surface, I), as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. These beveled surfaces do not extend entirely across the cams, but so far as to leave about one-third of the peripheries of the cams designated by c of an equal thickness.

The beveled surfaces b of the cams face the brakebars E, which may be suspended from the framing A in the usual way, and provided with the ordinary shoes, F, which are in line or in the same planes with the wheels Gr.

To the center of each brake-bar E there is attached, at right angles, a rod, H, and in the outer part of each rod H there is fitted a friction roller, I. These friction rollers bear against the beveled sides I) of the cams D.

The rods H are not attached rigidly to the brake-bars E. They pass looselythrough them and have a spring, 03, on them. These springs are interposed between the outer surfaces of the brake-bars E and the shoulders formed by heads 0 on the outer parts of the rods H, in which the rollers I are fitted. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

The ends of the rod or shaft 0 are provided with crossbars f, said bars being attached centrally to the ends of the shaft, and having a pin, g, fitted securely in one end of it and a hole, h, made in it near its opposite end. The pin 9 of each bar fits inv the hole h in the bar of the rod or shaft 0 of an adjoining car, and a drawhead is thus obtained which forms a connection between the rods or shafts C, to admit of all the rods of a train of cars being turned simultaneously. The pins 9 are secured in the bars f by means of pins, catches, or any suitable fastenings, and it is designed to have the holes h of such dimensions as to admit of all necessary lateral or vertical play of the cars while in motion. 7

When the rods or shafts C are connected together and power applied to them to cause their rotation, the cams D actuate the brakebars E and press the shoes F against the treads of the wheels, the maximum pressure being attained when the most prominent portions 0 of the cams are in contact with the rollers I, and a constant maximum pressure is attained while said portions 0 pass overthe rollers. The springs d admit of an equal or uniform pressure of the shoes F against thewheels G, as it is through said springs that the cams act against the brake-bar's.

J represents a steam-cylinder on the locomotive, the pistou-rod K of which is provided with a rack, L, into which a pinion, M, on a shaft, N, gears. The shaft N is placed longitudinally in the framing of the locomotive,

and is connected to the rod or shaft 0 of the car immediately behind it. The shaft N is The rack L may have the return motion communicated to it byadmitting steam at the inner end of the cylinder J; or a spring, 0, may be attached to the rack L, to give the return motion to the rack.

On the front end of each car-frame there is placed a vertical shaft, P, the lower 'end of which has a bevel-wheel, Q, upon it, which gears into a bevel-wheel, R, on the rod or shaft O. This shaft 1? is encompassed by a shaft, S, the latter fitting loosely on the former, so that each may turn independently of the other. To the lower part of the tubular shaft S there is attached a chain, which may be connected to the brake-bars E in the same way as the ordinary brakes, and a brakeman, therefore, may at any time operate the brake of an individual car by turning its shaft S, and all the brakes of a train or series of cars may be operated by turning a shaft, 1?. In operating the brakes by hand through the medium of the shafts P, the rods or shaftsO may be turned back to take off the brakes by pulling a chain, U, which is attached to a wheel or pulley, V, at the outer side of the bevel-wheel R on the rod or shaft 0. Each shaft 1? S is provided with a ratchet, e, and pawl f, to prevent casual back movement when operated.

I would remark that the cams D, instead of operating directly against the brake-bars, as herein shown and described, may be operated against levers connected with the same, and in this case only one-0r two cams may be used on the rod or shaft 0 of each car, and said cams also, instead of being on the rods or shafts, may be on independent shafts, and actuated by gearing from the rod or shaft 0. This, however, would be but a modification, and an equivalent of the plan herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The rotating rod or shaft 0, in connection with one or more cams, D, either placed on the rod or shaft or so connected therewith as to be turned by it and actuate the brakes, as described.

2. Operating or turning the rod or shaft 0 from the locomotive by means of a steam-cylinder, J, having its piston-rod K provided with a rack, L, which gears into a pinion, M, on the shaft N, connected with the rod or shaft 0, substantially as set forth.

3. The shafts P S, fitted one within the other and connected, one, P, to the rod or shaft 0, and the other, S, directly to the brake-bars, substantially asand for the purpose specified.

4. The draw-heads or couplings, formed of the cross-bars f, each provided with a pin, and a hole, h, substantially as set forth.

A. I. AMBLER. 

